SAVE THE DATE: October 6–7, 2026 (Bismarck)
We’re thrilled to announce that our biennial Statewide Arts Convening will be held October 6–7, 2026 in Bismarck, ND! This two-day gathering will bring together artists, arts organizations, cultural workers, and heritage advocates from across North Dakota. While contracts are still being finalized, we know this: everyone interested in arts, culture, and heritage is invited.
Expect:
- Keynote speakers
- Peer-to-peer meetups
- Informational breakout sessions
- Shared meals and creative connection
Help Shape the Convening!
We’re in the early planning stages and want to hear from YOU. What topics should we explore? What challenges are you facing? What successes do you want to share? Your ideas will help shape our breakout sessions.
2024 Arts Convening Session Descriptions and Recordings
The Art of Attraction: How Artists Create Meaningful Places, Teva Dawson
How does your community become a “place of distinction," attracting a workforce? Having strong, vital, and unique communities forms emotional connections with residents and visitors, creating and sustaining attachment and advocacy. Public art and placemaking expert Teva Dawson shares how to bring transformative ideas to your town, weave your unique assets, and grow your authentic culture.
Build It and They Will Come – Make It Happen in Your Town, Jess Christy
Panelists Brooklyn Engelhart & Antoinette Heier shared inspirational stories of how to create attractive and vibrant communities filled with artistic expression that will attract new families, workers, and tourists. The session was facilitated by North Dakota Council on the Arts Executive Director Jess Christy who also shared information on grant programs and available funds from both NDCA and ND Department of Commerce.
Cultural Asset Mapping: Put Your Communities' Strengths on the Map, Teva Dawson
A panel will discuss asset mapping as a capacity-focused way of reimaging the strengths and gifts that already exist in our communities. Participants will work together by region to identify assets. By naming collective points of pride, we create a strong foundation from which to build future ideas and address challenges as they arise. Tangible assets such as art and natural heritage, festivals, and events as well as intangible assets such as traditions and relationships all contribute to defining a community’s unique identity and sense of place. Each region will share their top picks that define their unique character, the first phase in defining a cultural plan for their region. Led by public art and placemaking expert Teva Dawson of Group Creative Services.
Regional Prosperity in Placemaking: Opportunities for Collaboration in Tourism & the Arts
Amy McCann, Director Of Community Relations at Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Rhea Beto, Public Information Officer at North Dakota Council on the Arts, and Cole Garmen, Outreach and Engagement for ND Parks and Rec share examples of three major placemaking programs happening in North Dakota.
The Power of Community Voices: How Storytelling Shapes our Future, Torrie Allen
Torrie Allen, President and CEO of Arts Midwest, one of ND’s Regional Support organizations, focused on the importance of storytelling as it relates to placemaking in the Upper Midwest Region and on building strong communities utilizing the resources that exist – history, people, arts, and forward-vision.
An Artists' Conversation
Five of the artists selected to build large-scale outdoor artworks for ND Council on the Arts' Arts Across the Prairie: Placemaking in Rural ND program engaged in conversation and answered questions from the audience. Among the topics were: the selection process, working on a rural site from a distance, incorporating cultural heritage into the design, community involvement, and the training of an ND artist cohort. The session was facilitated by Teva Dawson of Group Creative Services.
Regional Prosperity Farm to Fork Lunch & Learn
At the 2024 ND Main Street Summit / Biennial Statewide Arts Convening Award Luncheon, guests enjoyed a locally source-verified meal made by local chefs utilizing the Rough Rider Center's catering kitchen, while listening to a discussion by a panel focused on the logistics of getting that meal and its items from farm to fork. The event was a partnership among District 1 Cattlewomen, Local Ag Lenders, Local Farmers and Ranchers, a Local processing plant, and Local brands – Pride of Dakota, McKenzie Made, and others.